Max And Ethan

Max asked cautiously, "Excuse me, who are you?"

Jack suddenly realized his mistake, "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself earlier, but better late than never." He then pulled out his ID card from his pocket, which doubled as a storage space, and showed it to Max.

"Who do you think owns the latest weapon the IRS equipment department developed?" Jack asked.

"So, you are from the IRS," Max breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Jack's ID clearly, "I don't think this place is within your authority and responsibility?"

"Well... If it were a normal situation, you'd be right, but this time, it is a bit special."

Jack rummaged through his bag and took out two handcuffs, placing them in front of Max.

"Because you had an illegal transaction with an American agent who didn't pay taxes, we have a legitimate opportunity to intervene. We are jointly enforcing the law with the CIA."

"So, should I put the handcuffs on for you, or do you want to put them on yourself?" Max asked, eyeing the handcuffs warily.

"You mean Ethan?" Max said with a serious face.

"Ethan? Are you talking about him?" Jack looked behind Max, "Ethan, come here."

Max was shocked, "Are you in the same group?"

"Please don't use such unprofessional terms to describe our friendly and cooperative relationship," Jack said, fiddling with the handcuffs, "This is a cross-border cooperation operation between the CIA and the IRS, as the beginning of friendly exchanges."

"That's right," Ethan nodded, "Ms. Max, as you wished, I am now sitting in front of you."

"I suddenly don't want to see you now." Max's face was hideous.

She realized that she had been entirely played by Ethan!

"That's really a shame." Ethan spread his hands, looking helpless, "I thought we had a lot to discuss. For example, you traded 5 billion with Agent Jim. Where is that money?"

"What? I don't have it. I gave it to you..." Max said, but then she seemed to realize something and stared at Ethan thoughtfully.

"To get the list of all the CIA agents and advanced tech, you made a deal with the CIA traitor Jim Agent for $5 billion," Jack said. "Ethan wanted to stop you, and he found me and successfully stopped you. How about this?"

"Very good," Ethan nodded, "And because Agent Jim resisted fiercely during the arrest process, he was killed, but he managed to destroy the $5 billion US treasury bills because he knew he couldn't escape, and finally, Agent Jack and I jointly killed him."

"You... want to rob the $5 billion?" Max's eyes widened, finally understanding what Jack and Ethan were discussing.

They were trying to cover up what they did and steal the $5 billion!

"Perhaps I should add to your charges, slandering public officials?" Jack lowered his voice.

"Need me to remind you who's in full command of this operation and that you'll be imprisoned in an IRS-controlled prison after this?" The information revealed in Jack's words made Max shudder.

"I just want to know..." Max's face was stiff, "If I offer another $5 billion, can you sell that product of yours to me?"

"The price has gone up, and now it's $100 billion."

Max sighed, defeated, as she looked at the exorbitant price Jack was demanding. There was no way she could afford it.

Turning to Ethan, she conceded defeat and asked him to put on the handcuffs on her.

Curious about Jack's odd behavior, Ethan asked him what was wrong.

Jack looked at the carriage's roof and said, "I think there's a small fly up there."

Meanwhile, Franz Krieger was flying a helicopter above the train. He was tasked with helping Jim and had actually teamed up with him.

But now, Franz was confused. Where was the person he was supposed to meet? Where did Jim disappear to? He didn't care about Jim's safety as much as the 10 million dollars on his person.

Jack, on the other hand, gave up on capturing Franz. "Don't worry about him," he said. "Just let him go."

Ethan knew what Jack meant and replied, "I must do this. They won't die. I owe it to my companion."

Jack patted Ethan on the shoulder, acknowledging his competence as an agent. "You have your own principles. I admire you for that."

Ethan couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You don't look much older than me, but you act like an old-timer," he said.

Jack glared at Ethan, offended. "Do not call me old," he said. "You still have a lot to learn. For example, how to speak properly."

He then proceeded to "slightly" knead Ethan's shoulder.

"Ow, ow!" Ethan winced. "Okay, okay, I get it. Stop kneading me!"

▪▪▪▪

After the train arrived at the station, Jim's body was whisked away by men arranged by Jack in advance. Ethan's innocence was never in doubt.

Then came the moment to spill the beans...wait, scratch that. Let's swap intel and motives first, then Jack can pen a report on this massive transnational mission and hand it over to Director Chris. Chris will give it the once-over, seal it up, and ship it off to IMF Secretary Eugene.

When Eugene finally got his hands on the letter, he was fuming like a boiling teapot. But after he calmed down and read the contents, everything clicked into place.

First off, Eugene had fingered Ethan as a traitor. Turns out, he was dead wrong. Jim, who'd been put on ice, was the real double-crosser.

Knowing he couldn't prove his innocence, Ethan went to the IRS for help with Claire. From there, they work with Jack to steal a list of CIA agents, cozy up to Max, and finally apprehend Jim.

Of course, the email to Eugene conveniently left out the part about Ethan swiping the CIA's agent list and being framed.

But IMF Minister Eugene saw the whole picture and realized Ethan was following orders. This move allowed Eugene to keep his job but left him beholden to the IRS and Ethan.

So, what was Eugene going to do? It was a relatively easy choice.

He took a deep breath and signed his name on the document, sealing the deal.

And just like that, the first-ever collaboration between the IRS and the CIA's IMF division was a smashing success.